P052B, what now!
 

2010 Ford Escape, 2.5l, FWD.

Been getting P052B's for several months, camshaft position sensor, VVT solenoid and CKP sensor replaced, oil change....level good. Much better/smoother engine performance, but the P052B has shown up again at startup.

EGR replaced, mechanic found to be bad at time the VVT was replaced.

No timing change noises on startup.

Can't register car in my area with Codes/incomplete IM's.

Anyone have any ideas?

There is a laundry list of possible causes and they need to be checked out one at a time. Guessing can get expensive and disappointing.

If you are not able to do the required tests to pin down the EXACT cause, might consider a qualified shop to check your vehicle.

That means your car has been in LIMP mode for several months and you shouldn't be driving it since. You need a scanner capable to retrieve Ford's specific DTC, for instance, Foxwell NT510 Elite w/ Ford+Lincoln+Mercury software.

What is the mileage now?
If you have been using 5W20 or 5W30, switch to 5w40 full synthetic oil could be a possible and cheapest fix when your oil pressure is low even dipstick level is full. 5w40 gives you way much higher oil pressure than 5w20/5w30.
Please also note that your mechanic is a bit clueless you might want to find another one who knows how to diagnose rather than guessing. You have two VVT solenoids, one intake one for exhaust. Whenever you get P052B (intake), your mechanic should swap the solenoid with the exhaust side. If the code follows (assuming you have a bad solenoid), you would then get the P054C (exhaust), that almost always confirm that you have a bad VVT.
When it comes to VVT solenoid you MUST buy motorcraft brand, do not go cheap and buy any others.
Also note that you need to reset VVT/camshaft adaptation after you changed the camshaft sensors and vvt solenoids.
Worst case scenario you have a worn cam ledge bearing then your car will need a major repair which can cost you $1k to $2.5k.

Heiko, thanks for the reply.

Current mileage is 109k.

The shop checked the VVT and found it to be off. It was replaced with FoMoCo part.

According to Ford, for my VIN, there is only one VVT on this engine. And there is no diagram that I can find that shows a location for a second VVT. If you have one, attach it and I will look for it.

I had not thought about oil viscosity being a possible end-of-life solution, since this option is not presented in the OM.

Thanks again.

The CORRECT oil and change schedule is CRITICAL for the engines with VVT.

Circumstances do not always allow for maintenance when schedules recommend, but there are reasons for the schedule, so do the best you can.

Just checked and your 2.5L use a single intake only VVT system.
If you are using 5W20, you might want to switch to 5W30 first (because 5w40 is not a fix and is not recommended on your engine), and use a quality oil filter and ensure all the o-rings are in good shape as pressure can also escape from there.
If you have forscan you can check the live data PIDs on VVT or VCT. Something like "actual intake camshaft timing" in degrees vs the desired one as you rev. If the actual degrees are far off or not moving, and you are already using the Ford genuine VVT solenoid then as you know it can be the cam phaser, cam ledge and oil pump.
If the mechanic didn't reset adaptation last time after replacing the new VVT I think you should do it. If the scanner/forscan allows you to reset just VVT/camshaft that's great, otherwise you might need to reset the KAM (keep alive memory) on your PCM preferably using a scanner than disconnecting the battery.
What else you can check, the PCV valve, if it's stuck open you can also have low oil pressure. If you haven't changed it for a while, change it now, it's only a few dollar.

Heiko,
Thanks for the info.
Yes the shop did reset the adaptation.
I will connect my scanner and watch the record the live data on the VVT.
I will probably reset the KAM anyway.
Thanks again